Learning with Times: Uranium is a cleaner fuel, but not freely traded

According to World Bank estimates, 41.2% of the world's electricity comes from coal, 21.9% from natural gas and 3.9% from oil. Hydropower constitutes 15.6%, nuclear power 11.7% and other renewable resources a little over 4% of the world's total electricity generation.July 20, 2015, 12:17 IST

Australian High Commissioner Patrick Suckling said the next round of talks between the two countries to firm up a safeguard agreement for sale of uranium to India is likely to take place before end of the year. (Representative pic)What are the main sources of global electricity generation?

At present, fossil fuels account for about 67% of the total electricity generated in the world. According to World Bank estimates, 41.2% of the world's electricity comes from coal, 21.9% from natural gas and 3.9% from oil. Hydropower constitutes 15.6%, nuclear power 11.7% and other renewable resources a little over 4% of the world's total electricity generation.

Why do we need nuclear energy?

There is a huge disparity in per capita electricity consumption between the industrialized and developing world. Nearly 15% of the world's population has no access to electricity. With growing population and the developing world's increasing income, global electricity demand is bound to increase. Experts believe that in the near future renewable energy sources like solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and so on will not be able to produce enough electricity to meet the global demand. Nuclear power seems like a relatively easy alternative to meet global energy demands. Also it's cleaner than fossil fuels as there is no emission of carbon dioxide.

How is nuclear energy generated?

Instead of coal, a nuclear reactor uses uranium as fuel. Naturally mined uranium has three forms - 99.3% of U-238, 0.7% of U-235 and less than 0.01% of U-234. U-235 is in an unstable form and decays to gain stability in which energy is released. In a nuclear reactor, this process of releasing energy is initiated by firing free neutrons on the nucleus. The more abundant U-238 can also be used as a fuel in breeder reactors. But the process is far more advanced and so U-235 is used as the main source of nuclear energy.

What is enrichment?

Unlike coal, which is ready to use immediately after mining, uranium has to undergo a further step so that it can become a suitable fuel. To start a nuclear reaction, the proportion of U-235 should be higher than its natural level of 0.7%. The process of increasing the proportion of fissionable uranium in the sample is called enrichment. A typical reactor fuel has about 3.5 to 5% of U-235.

How many countries are using nuclear energy today?

According to World Nuclear Association (WNA), an international organization that promotes nuclear power, as of June 2015 there are 437 operational reactors in 30 countries. Together these reactors generate 2,411 billion kWh of electricity. There are 18 other countries where reactors are under construction, planned or approved. Over three-fourths (76.9%) of the total electricity generated in France comes from nuclear reactors. Nuclear power constitutes nearly half of the electricity generated in Slovakia, Hungary and Ukraine.

In which countries is uranium mined?

According to the WNA's uranium production figures, in 2014 over 40% of the world's total production came from Kazakhstan. Over 16% was from Canada while Australia accounted for 9%. These countries along with Niger, Namibia and Russia account for 85% of the global production of uranium.

Is uranium freely traded in the international market?

Unlike other minerals, uranium is not freely traded. There is a voluntary association of 46 countries called the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which follows certain guidelines for supplying uranium as well as the technology to make nuclear reactors. These guidelines require importing countries to agree to certain safeguard conditions that allows inspection of nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Incidentally, the NSG was formed after India's 1974 nuclear weapon test.

“To save the environment and to fight climate change, my government has planned a major campaign. By 2022, we want to generate 175 GW of renewable energy. In the last three years, we have already achieved 60 GW or around one-third of this target,” he said.